Strymon Iridium Review/Demo - Kemper/Helix killer....? Nah

richardhomer

Mine arrived today (excellent service from Hotrox - I only ordered it yesterday). It’s a Christmas present funded by my girlfriend and most members of my family - so apart from checking it works, I’m not allowed to have it until the big day.

I have to say @JohnCordy’s dems ‘really’ made me want one!

sgosden

@bintytwanger77

JohnCordy

trying to get a smooth-ish lead tone out of the AC30 as someone was mentioning they found it a bit "fizzy" with the Strymon Sunset

Seziertisch

JohnCordy said:

trying to get a smooth-ish lead tone out of the AC30 as someone was mentioning they found it a bit "fizzy" with the Strymon Sunset

Just out of curiosity, try putting the Stomp between the two Strymons and just using a high/low pass block on it

I’m guessing that the Iridium has some sort of low pass being applied automatically to the sound.  It’s possibly the case that that it is not low enough to take the fizz off the Sunset.

JohnCordy

@Seziertisch actually it's possible to apply a high cut or low cut in the impulse manager so I could try that but tbh that'd probably remove the sparkle on the cleans so....the guy I was trying it for has since said that he doesn't like vox in general or the way they take drive..so it seems odd to use the vox in that case!

Seziertisch

JohnCordy said:

@Seziertisch actually it's possible to apply a high cut or low cut in the impulse manager so I could try that but tbh that'd probably remove the sparkle on the cleans so....the guy I was trying it for has since said that he doesn't like vox in general or the way they take drive..so it seems odd to use the vox in that case!

I think you might be surprised. My experience of low passing electric guitar recordings is that the cut off point for what we want to hear from them is sometimes surprisingly low, like 7 or 8k or maybe even lower.

Also, cutting highs before the amp doesn’t necessarily make the amp sound duller. I have used a Pettyjohn Predrive at the front of my signal chain and the IR manager filters at the end on the Helix and they are not really substitutable. Cutting before reduces/removes frequencies before they are amplified, whereas afterwards reduces/removes them from what is coming from the speaker and being picked up by the mic, which in turn are applying their own filtering to the sound. Got some reason they give different results. You might not miss the “problem” frequencies from the clean sound as they are possibly largely absent from it to begin with and are only being pushed/being brought to the fire when the Sunset is engaged.

Seziertisch

mbwhite said:

both of them sounds good in samples. It seems that the Fender model on Iridium is way way better than any preset I've been able to dial with the stomp.

From the samples, I think the Helix Fender Deluxe is more representative of a lot of that kind of amp I’ve encountered in real life, particularly the slightly problematic high frequency stuff they can sometimes have. In terms of dialling in a sound, try using high and low pass filtering both before the amp and after (in the IR manager).

Rolling off some low end before will allow you to push the lows on the amp past where they would usually be too much. A good starting point is 70-80hz (low E Fundament is 83hz) This can be used to add body without it becoming woolly. The same applies to the highs, set the cut off point in the right place and you can potentially get a saturation at the spot where it sparkles but not where it grates. The filters on the IR manager can then be used for some general tidying up in case it’s needed.

JohnCordy

As I've been messing around with a Line 6 Pocket Pod as a practice headphone rig, and the Iridium also has a headphone out, I figured part of the "portable" thing with a portable rig should probably be that you only need that one item to get inspired to practice/play. 

Here I try just the Iridium with no other pedals, and I have to say in this case I find it a little difficult to get inspired without any delay/reverb stuff....YMMV!

JohnCordy

the Sunset seems to like the Round model on the Iridium....

colourofsound

So at gun point, would you pick the Helix Stomp or the Iridium?

I’m looking for something to tack on to my board when I can’t play my amp. This sort of solution seems so much easier (and more value for money) than a load box like the Torpedo Captor.

if the synth/harmony models are comparable to individual offerings it might sway it in the helix direction...

EDIT: I should add; I’m only interested in the quality of the amp modelling. If Iridium is better sounding I wouldn’t go for the Helix anyway just because of the extra effects

EDIT 2: I’m most interested in the best Deluxe Reverb model. I have a 68 CDR that I love; so getting close to that would be great.

im concerned the Iridium doesn’t have a spring reverb model. Seems like an odd choice?

althy

they're both equally good with slight differences in flavour, in the amp department.
the stomp can get you very close to the iridium if not 100% there even though it takes time to learn how to dial a good amp tone if you haven't used modelers before.
Also it requires third party IR's to deliver.

The Iridium is VERY easy to use and sounds like a professionally mic'ed up amp (well 3..)  and that straight out of the box.

There is nothing wrong going with either, to me it is more down to how much room you have on your pedalboard and what's your budget.
Could you need the extra amps/ effects from the Stomp in the future or not?

The stomp is GREAT for OD/Distortions and ok for delays. The mods/synth/harmony or reverbs sound vanilla to me.

I love the Iridium feel and tone with all 3 amps. The reverb is not emulating an amp verb but the actual room in which the amp tracking is supposedly done. It is usable as a coloring/mixing tool but is not intented to be a reverb "effect".

Keep in mind the iridium will require an additional DI if you're planning on using it live while the stomp has a balanced output.

richardhomer

colourofsound said:

im concerned the Iridium doesn’t have a spring reverb model. Seems like an odd choice?

The ‘Room’ control has three different ‘sizes’ - when first plugged in, ‘Small’ is the default setting. If you hold the On/Off footswitch down for a few seconds you can select ‘Medium’ or ‘Large’. ‘Large’ is much more like the onboard spring reverb in a Fender amp.

Until I discovered this, the Fender model really wasn’t doing it for me. I’ve now completely charged my opinion - it really is very good.

JohnCordy

@colourofsound yeh it would be nice if there was a spring option for the room...if it's purely to go at the end of your board, the iridium seems like a smart choice given that it's easier to power etc. I'd say the amp models within do take the edge over the helix and probably Kemper too. 

Having said that obviously the Hx stomp does so much more and can be your audio interface etc. So if you're looking for an all in one solution it's very hard to beat...

JohnCordy

@colourofsound for me I guess I'm saying if I'm only allowed one I'd have the Hx stomp

colourofsound

I would be looking to just chuck it at the end of the board rather than make it a part of it.

I’ve considered the Stomp before for modulation and synth/octave duties but it just sounds really sterile to me; so I think if the Iridium takes the biscuit for *authenticity* of tone then that’s probably the one for me.

As an aside - your playing is really great. I’d love to be able to play like that - I’m especially envious of moving from one chord to the next with lead lines in between; sounds so intuitive and natural! If you teach and you’re ooop narth send me a PM!

Seziertisch

colourofsound said:

I’ve considered the Stomp before for modulation and synth/octave duties but it just sounds really sterile to me; so I think if the Iridium takes the biscuit for *authenticity* of tone then that’s probably the one for me

The Helix Modulation effects are a bit blah. The Univibe sounds close enough to the real thing (comparing to a RM Voodoo Vibe). The MXR Phase 90 emulation is decent enough, but not really up to the real thing. The MXR Flanger emulation is totally different from the real thing (a reissue), like so different as to be unrecognisable and not in a good way. That said the tremolos are great, the delays and verbs are also cool (a different vibe from the H9, but nonetheless very musical).

The synth/octave stuff is underdeveloped, it’s there but not really representing, though I saw somewhere that Line6 have hired a bunch of the former DigiTech staff, so there should be a decent Whammy in the works.

richardhomer

Further thoughts having spent a little while with mine this evening - the Plexi model is really impressive. It cleans up when backing off the guitar’s volume in a really ‘amp-like’ way. It responds to playing dynamics brilliantly.

I have limited experience of digital - but I think this will be a permanent fixture for me.

JohnCordy

@richardhomer yeh there's a video where I compare the preamp with an actual Vox and that one is pretty spot on.

shuikit

althy said:

Also it requires third party IR's to deliver.

This is more of a matter of preference, personally I can be happy with either.  I think that stock cabs can sit in the mix better than some IRs that I've tired.  I have found this thread to be pretty useful https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/helix-stock-cabs-ideas.2038915/

althy said:

Keep in mind the iridium will require an additional DI if you're planning on using it live while the stomp has a balanced output.

Stomp you don't need a DI box, just a TRS to XLR adaptor
 

TeleMaster

I'm confused with the DI box point. If I want to use this into a power amp and cab, will that work as it says it's not advisable on their site.

Thanks.